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Appendix
d. Rehearsing & Delivery
•The best time to rehearse is the day or evening before,
not a couple of hours before, and the best place to
rehearse is in the actual room. Rehearsing a speech
in a small office is not the same as standing up in
front of 100 people in a hotel ballroom or classroom.
•Due to varying processor speeds of computers,
practice your slide transitions for proper timing.
•Whenever possible, set up your equipment well in
advance to allow adequate time to resolve any
unexpected issues such as lighting, power, seating
and audio.
•Thoroughly check every piece of equipment you bring
along. Make sure you have fresh batteries in your
remote controls and laptop computer. Fully charge
your computer’s battery before the presentation and
connect your AC adaptor for added safety.
•Make sure you are completely familiar with the control
panel on your projector and remote controls.
•If you are using a microphone, check it out before
hand and walk around to see where you might have
problems with feedback. Avoid standing in these
problem areas during your presentation.
e. Presentation Tips
•Before beginning, visualize yourself delivering an
outstanding presentation.
•Know your speech, memorizing at least the first three
minutes of your presentation will allow you to focus
on your rhythm and pacing.
•Speak to early arrivals to help you build a rapport
with the audience and make you feel more
comfortable.
•Do not be overly dependent on your visuals by reciting
what your audience is already reading. Know your
material well enough to be able to deliver the
presentation with ease. Use your visuals to emphasize
keypoints.
•Be sure to project your voice clearly and use eye
contact to maintain audience attention.
•Do not wait until halfway through your presentation to
get your point across. If you wait and try to create a
“build-up”, you may lose some of your audience along
the way.
•Keep your audience’s attention. As most people only
focus for 15 to 20 minutes during a one-hour
presentation, it is important to recapture their attention
periodically. Use phrases like, “This is critical to my
point” or “This is absolutely fundamental” to remind
them you are saying something they need to hear.
Guide to Effective Presentations